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Eerdmans Appoints Lil Copan as Senior Acquisitions Editor

March 2015

Eerdmans has hired Lil Copan as Senior Acquisitions Editor for general trade books. Having previously worked in acquisitions for several religious publishing houses  Abingdon Press, Ave Maria Press, and Paraclete Press, among others  Copan brings two decades of experience to Eerdmans. Among her areas of expertise are trade line development, project management, author and platform cultivation, substantive editing, and cross-platform content development.

Copan has worked with an impressive array of bestselling authors, including Madeleine L’Engle and Lauren Winner. She acquired Frederick Buechner’s Faces of Jesus for Paraclete in 2004 and was credited by Jana Riess in a 2011 Publishers Weekly interview for having “brilliantly
suggested” the concept for her book Flunking Sainthood.

“Very few publishers manage to balance respect for authors, excellence in content, and a sense of responsibility to their readers,” Copan says. “Eerdmans has continued to invite readers and generate new ideas, introducing valued voices of faith over the last century-plus. Presenting diverse voices and faithful work with Eerdmans is an opportunity to sow seasoned skills, experience, and sensibility in the fertile ground of faith-based publishing.”

“We at Eerdmans have always had a strong interest in the relevance of ideas to the church broadly and to culture generally,” says Jon Pott, Editor in Chief, “and it is wonderful now to bolster that interest with so distinguished and creative an editor as Lil Copan has been. It is also warming, may I say, to welcome to the Eerdmans team someone whom several of us have long counted a friend and kindred spirit.”

Eerdmans Promotes Gayle Brown to Associate Publisher/Art Director

March 2015

Gayle Brown has been promoted to Associate Publisher/Art Director of the children's book imprint Eerdmans Books for Young Readers (EBYR). Having previously managed the creative development of publishing projects as Art Director, Brown's new title reflects the expanded role she has played and will continue to play in acquiring projects from foreign publishers and in overseeing the day to day EBYR production schedule.

Brown joined Eerdmans in 1994 as a part time assistant and was later promoted to the position of Art Director. During her tenure she has collaborated with many distinguished children's book illustrators, including Melissa Sweet, who won Caldecott Honors for both of her EBYR titles, A River of Words (2008) and The Right Word (2014). Brown's enthusiasm for international picture books has led EBYR to acquire dozens of critically-acclaimed titles from many different countries  titles which have earned two Mildred E. Batchelder Awards and multiple Batchelder Honors from the American Library Association.

"I've always had a personal interest in the picture book as an art form," says Brown, "and over the years Eerdmans has provided an environment that has offered me opportunities to learn, develop, and grow within the larger world of children's books. I am grateful for all of the opportunities."

"Gayle has been responsible for so much of the shape of what we do at EBYR," says Anita Eerdmans, President and Publisher of Eerdmans. "This promotion is a richly deserved recognition of her ongoing contribution to our program."

Eerdmans Books for Young Readers began in 1995 as an imprint of Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company. For more information visit our Young Readers page.

The Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC) announced its top books, videos, and audiobooks of 2015 for children and young adults during its annual Midwinter Meeting on February 2nd in Chicago, Illinois. Two titles published by Eerdmans Books for Young Readers (EBYR)  The Right Word and Mikis and the Donkey  were among the award recipients.

The Right Word: Roget and His Thesaurus, written by Jen Bryant and illustrated by Melissa Sweet, won two accolades: the Robert F. Sibert Informational Book Medal for “the most distinguished informational book published in the United States in English during the preceding year” and a Randolph Caldecott Honor, one of the highest distinctions that can be given to any illustrated children’s book. This is a second Caldecott Honor for the creative team of Bryant, Sweet, and EBYR, whose picture book biography of William Carlos Williams, A River of Words, earned a Caldecott Honor in 2009.

The Right Word is a picture book biography about Peter Mark Roget and the creation of his Thesaurus. Sweet’s mixed media collages detail the story of Roget’s life with meticulously hand-lettered word lists, depicting Roget’s love of words, collecting, and organization  and his quest to find the right word for every occasion.

Mikis and the Donkey, written by Bibi Dumon Tak, illustrated by Philip Hopman, and translated by Laura Watkinson, was awarded the Mildred L. Batchelder Award for “the most outstanding of those books originally published in a foreign language in a foreign country, and subsequently translated into English and published in the United States.” This is a second Batchelder Award for Dumon Tak, Hopman, Watkinson, and EBYR, who also won in 2012 for Soldier Bear.

Mikis and the Donkey tells the story of a young boy living on the Greek Island of Corfu. One day Mikis’ grandfather surprises him with a new donkey, stressing that she is a working animal and not a pet. Nevertheless, Mikis and the donkey, which he names Tsaki, become fast friends and share some grand adventures. In the end both Mikis and his grandfather learn something about what it means to care for another creature.

The Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC), a division of The American Library Association (ALA), is the world's largest organization dedicated to the support and enhancement of library service to children. Learn more on their website.

Anita Eerdmans Named New President and Publisher of Eerdmans Publishing; William B. Eerdmans Jr. Assumes Role of Chairman of the Board

December 2014

William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company has announced that William B. (Bill) Eerdmans Jr. will step away from his role as President and Publisher and assume the role of Chairman of the Board of the family-owned company, effective immediately. Replacing him as President and Publisher is Anita Eerdmans, who was previously Vice President of Marketing and of Eerdmans Books for Young Readers. She will be only the third President/Publisher in the company's 103-year history.

"I'm ever grateful for the lot that has fallen to me, that of following my father in steering this company to the prominence it has enjoyed at the hands of its authors, fellow workers, and the world near and far of booksellers and publishing colleagues," said Bill Eerdmans. "It's been exciting and inspiring. I am truly blessed in having as my successor my wife Anita, who has, throughout our nearly forty years of partnership, proven worthy of every confidence to further pursue our broad range of publishing interests."

Anita Eerdmans began her career in the Eerdmans editorial department in 1974 before transitioning into the marketing department she now leads. Since 2006 she has also been responsible for the children's imprint Eerdmans Books for Young Readers, which she has led to national prominence, publishing titles that have won such prestigious national awards as the Caldecott Honor Award for illustration, the Batchelder Award for translation, and the Schneider Family Award for books about disability, all given by the American Library Association.

Jon Pott, Vice President and Editor in Chief of Wm. B.
Eerdmans Publishing Company, has announced that he will retire on June 30, 2015.

Pott first joined the publishing house as an editor in 1968. He later served as Executive Editor for several years before being appointed to the position of Editor in Chief in 1982. During his long tenure, Pott has overseen the growth of the company’s yearly publishing output from approximately 70 titles a year to well over 100. He also played an active role in Eerdmans’ acclaimed periodical The Reformed Journal, serving as Editor in Chief from 1982 up until its final issue in 1990.

“When I came to the company I intended to stay for one year,” Pott said, adding, “Forty-six years later, that is a deadline I am deeply grateful to have missed.”

Although Pott has overseen publication lists that range broadly across topics in biblical studies, theology, philosophy, history, spirituality, and ministry, he has been especially instrumental in acquiring groundbreaking titles in ethics and bioethics, many of which were a result of his decades-long participation in the Society of Christian Ethics. Other special initiatives have been in the area of Dead Sea Scrolls studies, religion and literature, and American religious history. Pott has also spearheaded several significant publishing projects in conjunction with organizations including the Pew Charitable Trust, the Lilly Endowment, Emory University’s Center for the Study of Law and Religion, and the Calvin Institute of Christian Worship.

“If  as I have been  one is in publishing first of all out of a love for language and ideas, Eerdmans is a wonderful place to be,” said Pott.

Eerdmans will begin the search for a new Editor in Chief in early 2015.

Shop on the Go with the New Eerdmans.com Mobile Bookstore

January 2014

If you happen to have visited Eerdmans.com from your smartphone or mobile device within the last few weeks, you’ve probably already experienced our big news today firsthand:
Eerdmans has now launched a mobile-friendly companion website  the Eerdmans Mobile Bookstore.

At our new mobile site  pared down and streamlined for optimal handheld browsing  you’ll find complete book and author information for each of our in-print and print-on-demand titles. (To save space, endorsements for each book are listed one at a time; to see them all, just swipe to the right.)

Our mobile site also features links to our interactive online catalogs, as well as the option to browse books by category. There’s a fully functioning cart for on-the-go shopping, and you can log in to your Eerdmans.com ecommerce account just as you would on our main site.

Eerdmans is pleased to announce that all of our qualifying ebooks (1,104 titles in total) are now available through Amazon Kindle’s new MatchBook program.

This innovative program allows readers who have previously purchased the print edition of a given book to buy the Kindle ebook edition at a greatly reduced price  $2.99, $1.99, $0.99, or even free (depending on the title).

Visit the MatchBook homepage to start searching for ebook titles already in your print library, or browse the extensive assortment of Eerdmans books currently available through MatchBook here.

The list, which was assembled by IBMR editors in consultation with a select group of fifty distinguished scholars from around the world, was published in the April 2013 issue of the journal. In announcing the list, the editors “commend the authors, editors, and publishers represented here for their contribution to the advancement of scholarship in studies of the Christian mission and world Christianity.”

Eerdmans can now be found on the photo-sharing social network Instagram. At www.instagram.com/eerdmans, viewers can browse a varied and ever-growing assortment of Eerdmans-related photographs and images. Subjects will include author events, conference appearances, works in progress, scenes drawn from everyday life at Eerdmans, vintage moments from Eerdmans history, and more.

Now in its 13th year, the Nautilus Awards program seeks well-written books with messages about caring for, understanding, and improving every aspect of our lives and relationships. Dedicated to excellence and the highest literary standards, the Nautilus assists its winners in gaining wider recognition, marketing and exhibiting opportunities, media coverage, industry exposure, and enhanced prospects for sales.

Eerdmans Author Named President of Hope College

John C. Knapp has been named the next president of Hope College, a four-year, co-educational, Christian liberal arts college located in Holland, Michigan, which is affiliated with the Reformed Church in America.

Knapp has served as founding director of the Frances Marlin Mann Center for Ethics and Leadership at Samford University in Birmingham, Ala., since 2008.

He is also the author of How the Church Fails Businesspeople (and What Can Be Done About It). In this book, Knapp argues that the church's ambiguous teachings about vocation, money, and business have contributed to Christians' uncertainty about discipleship in the workplace  and he offers a new theological framework for Christian life in the world of business.

In Dementia: Living in the Memories of God John Swinton develops a practical theology of dementia for caregivers, people with dementia, ministers, hospital chaplains, and medical practitioners. Offering compassionate and carefully considered theological and pastoral responses to dementia and forgetfulness, Swinton's Dementia: Living in the Memories of God redefines dementia in light of the transformative counter story that is the gospel.

Frederick Dale Bruner’s The Gospel of John is broadly historical, deeply theological, and rich in biblical insights gleaned from Bruner’s lifetime of study and teaching. Bruner honors and draws from the church's major John commentators throughout history, including Augustine, Chrysostom, Aquinas, Luther, Calvin, Bultmann, Barrett, and many more. Alongside this "historical interpretation" is Bruner's own contemporary interpretation, which incorporates a lucid translation of the text, references to recent scholarship, and his pastoral application of the Gospel to present-day experience.

Eerdmans Title Included in Preaching Top Six

Preaching has named Hearing the Old Testament: Listening for God’s Address (edited by Craig Bartholomew and David J. H. Beldman) one of its Top 6 Books in Biblical Studies for 2012, calling it, “a very helpful book examining theological interpretation of the OT section by section” and “immensely valuable for preachers.”

A total of eleven Eerdmans titles (including Hearing the Old Testament) were also featured in the 2012 Preaching Survey of Bibles and Bible Study.

Two titles from Eerdmans Books for Young Readers were honored at the American Library Association’s 2013 youth media awards ceremony, held during the association’s annual Midwinter Meeting January 28 in Seattle, Washington.

Claire Alexander’s Back to Front and Upside Down won the Schneider Family Award, which recognizes books that embody an artistic expression of the disability experience, for children ages 0-10.

Back to Front and Upside Down tells the story of an beginning writer named Stan, who is frustrated when his letters come out all in a muddle  “back to front and upside down.” Stan is afraid to tell the teacher his trouble, until a friend assures him that nobody’s good at everything and that everyone has to ask for help sometimes.

Anne de Graaf’s Son of a Gun was selected as one of two Batchelder Honor books. The Mildred L. Batchelder Award is awarded annually to an outstanding children’s book originally published in a language other than English in a country other than the United States and subsequently translated into English for publication in the United States.

Son of a Gun tells the powerful and gripping story of a brother and sister, eight-year-old Lucky and ten-year-old Nopi, who are kidnapped from school and forced to become child soldiers in Liberia’s fourteen-year-long civil war. A sensitive and compelling narrative based on true stories of former child soldiers interviewed by the author, Son of a Gun also includes a section of notes and further information about Liberia.

Meet at the Ark at Eight tells the story of two penguins who learn that a great flood is coming to destroy the earth  and that they are the only two penguins who have been chosen to board Noah's Ark. The two penguins decide, however, to smuggle their friend aboard in a suitcase, and a wild forty-day journey ensues.

This creative twist on the classic biblical tale encourages readers to ask questions about God, though it never presumes that the answers will be quick and easy. Ulrich Hub's humorous, yet thought-provoking retelling of this well-known Bible story is complemented by Jörg Mühle's witty illustrations.

The National Jewish Book Award is sponsored by the Jewish Book Council, a non-profit corporation chartered New York. It is supported, in large part, by dedicated and interested individuals and foundations in the Jewish community. The Jewish Book Council is the only organization in the organized American Jewish community whose sole purpose is the promotion of Jewish books.

Three Eerdmans Titles Win Christianity Today Book Awards

January, 2013

Christianity Today has included three Eerdmans titles among the 19 winners and honorees of its 2013 Book Awards.

Eerdmans offers its congratulations to all three authors  and its thanks to the editors of Christianity Today for tackling the challenging task of selecting 10 winners and 9 notables from the 455 titles submitted to the contest by 68 publishers.

Authors Richard J. Mouw and Robert L. Millet visited Eerdmans Bookstore Wednesday, January 9, 2013. The two theologians spoke together about how their own conversation began many years ago  and how it has developed over time  as they reflected on the state of Mormon-evangelical dialogue in America today. They also greeted customers and signed books at an informal reception following their talk.

The Frank Moore Cross Award, sponsored by the American Schools of Oriental Research (ASOR), has been presented to James C. VanderKam for his book, The Dead Sea Scrolls and the Bible. VanderKam received his award at ASOR’s Annual Meeting, which took place November 14-17, 2012, in Chicago, Illinois.

The Frank Moore Cross Award is given annually to the editor or author of the most substantial volume related to ancient Near Eastern and eastern Mediterranean epigraphy, text and/or tradition. This work must be the result of original research published within the past two years.

In The Dead Sea Scrolls and the Bible leading expert James VanderKam offers detailed summaries of significant ways in which the scrolls can enrich the reading and study of the Bible. Each chapter brings readers up-to-date with the latest pivotal developments, focusing on relevant information from the scrolls and expounding their significance for biblical studies. This rich compendium from a distinguished scholar is essential reading for all who work at understanding biblical texts and their contexts within the ancient world.

Alvin Plantinga, professor emeritus of philosophy at Calvin College, has been named a winner of the 20122013 Nicholas Rescher Prize for Contributions to Systematic Philosophy. Created in 2010 by the University of Pittsburgh and named for a member of that institution’s philosophy faculty, the prize recognizes a lifetime of achievement in systematic philosophy.

The Rescher Prize (which comes with a $25,000 award and a medallion) is the latest in a series of honors for Plantinga, author of a number of books, including God, Freedom, and Evil.

Wesley Granberg-Michaelson, a distinguished visiting scholar in the John W. Kluge Center at the Library of Congress, will discuss the major demographic changes in the Christian world and the impact of the explosion of Christianity in the Global South.

Granberg-Michaelson, the former general secretary of the Reformed Church of America and author of Unexpected Destinations: An Evangelical Pilgrimage to World Christianity, will present "The Pilgrimage of World Christianity: A Post-Christian West and the Non-Western Church" at the Library at 4 p.m. on Thursday, Dec. 13 in Room 119 on the first floor of the Thomas Jefferson Building, 10 First St. S.E., Washington, D.C. The lecture is free and open to the public.

David Gushee, author of the groundbreaking book The Sacredness of Human Life, was a featured guest on National Public Radio’s On Being with Krista Tippett October 4, 2012. A pro-life Christian ethicist, Gushee appeared alongside reproductive rights activist Frances Kissling for the program “Pro-life, Pro-choice, Pro-dialogue,” part of the Civil Conversations Project. Tippett interviewed Kissling and Gushee before a live audience at the Humphrey School of Public Affairs in Minnesota.

After nearly a year away, Eerdmans is pleased to announce the return of its popular Print on Demand program. With Print on Demand, any of the 640 backlist titles enrolled in the program can be printed in any quantity, as few as one at a time, as customers request them. Print on Demand books are produced by a high-speed digital printing press and can be ordered, printed, shipped, and delivered in one to two weeks.

Information about all POD books  including descriptions, publication information, key reviews, cover images, and authors’ biographical statements  is now available on Eerdmans.com.

We regret that POD titles cannot be purchased through the website at this time. They can, however, be ordered directly through the Eerdmans customer service department, by phone, email, or fax.

In his lecture series, entitled “Faith and Citizenship with Reference to Africa: A Comparative Inquiry,” Sanneh will “reflect on the issues and challenges facing Christians in societies of significant Christian growth but with a scanty tradition of thinking about how faith and citizenship impinge on issues of democracy in a pluralist society. He will compare Christian and Islamic ideas, indicating the overlaps and divergences as a way of sharpening the issues younger churches are facing in Africa and elsewhere.”

The Stob Lectures are sponsored annually by Calvin College and Calvin Theological Seminary in honor of Dr. Henry J. Stob. Their subject matter is related to the fields of ethics, apologetics, and philosophical theology. The Stob Lectures are funded by the Henry J. Stob Endowment and are administered by a committee including the presidents of Calvin College and Calvin Theological Seminary. The event is free and open to the public.

Summoned from the Margin, which deals with many of the same themes he will discuss in his lectures, recounts Sanneh’s fascinating personal journey from his childhood in an impoverished village in West Africa to a distinguished career teaching at the Universities of Yale, Harvard, Aberdeen, and Ghana  and from a polygamous Muslim family to the Roman Catholic Church.

Klaas Wolterstorff Named Vice President of Content and Technology

As of September 19, 2012, Klaas Wolterstorff has been named Vice President of Content and Technology at Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company. He formerly served as Production Manager, a position he had held since 1988.

Although his title did not change throughout his twenty-four years as Production Manager, Wolterstorff’s role gradually grew to encompass duties that went well beyond his official job description. In addition to overseeing the layout, design, and production of each of the approximately 120 adult titles Eerdmans publishes each year, Wolterstorff has also unofficially functioned as information technologies director and network administrator for the company.

Now, as Vice President of Content and Technology, Wolterstorff will continue to supervise the production department and manage information technology at Eerdmans. He will also, however, take a more active leadership role in the company’s ongoing transition into the ebook market, helping to guide Eerdmans as it seeks to adapt to the rapidly evolving world of content distribution in the digital age.

Eerdmans will be one of three Gold Sponsors of the American Schools of Oriental Research 2012 Annual Meeting, to be held November 14-17 in Chicago, Illinois. Attending the conference from Eerdmans (along with a wide assortment of books for sale) will be senior editor Allen Myers and advertising manager Janice Myers. As the publisher of many books on ancient Near Eastern archaeology and cultural studies, Eerdmans is proud to support the work of this noteworthy organization.

The Word Guild  a national association of nearly 400 Christian Canadian writers and editors  has given Hans Boersma's Heavenly Participation an Award of Merit in the Book: Academic category. Learn more about the awards here.

EBYR Notes the Death of Illustrator Patricia Cantor

July 26, 2012

With profound sadness, Eerdmans Books for Young Readers notes the untimely death of illustrator Patricia Cantor. Pat had recently finished her charming illustrations for Christopher Sat Straight Up in Bed, scheduled for publication on our Spring 2013 list. We had been looking forward to working with her on future projects when we learned the sad news that she was terminally ill. She died on July 17. We greatly regret that Pat did not live to see her last book in its finished form, but we take comfort in the knowledge that this book will exist as a permanent monument to her extraordinary gifts as an illustrator.

Eerdmans Author Elected to American Academy of Arts and Sciences

May 3, 2012

We offer hearty congratulations to Jean Porter, author of Ministers of the Law and Nature as Reason, for her recent election to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences (AAAS). Founded in 1780, AAAS remains one of the nation's most prestigious honorary societies, having elected intellectual Americans such as George Washington, Daniel Webster, and Albert Einstein. Dr. Porter is recognized for her scholarship in Christian ethics and the history and interpretation of the natural law tradition in Catholic ethical reflection, particularly the moral theology of St. Thomas Aquinas. She will be inducted with her fellow newly elected members at a ceremony Oct. 6 at the AAAS headquarters in Cambridge, MA.

Forthcoming Titles Address Current Controversies

April 20, 2012

Talking with Mormons: An Invitation to Evangelicals
Richard Mouw

Now that Rick Santorum has suspended his presidential bid, the question that has swirled around the all-but-certain Republican nominee Mitt Romney’s campaign for over two years  will evangelical voters support a Mormon candidate?  is sure to be asked more loudly and forcefully.

In his forthcoming book Talking with Mormons: An Invitation to Evangelicals, Richard J. Mouw  president of Fuller Seminary and a pioneering voice in Mormon-evangelical dialogue  shares his wise thoughts on whether (and how, and to what extent) evangelicals and Mormons can transcend doctrinal differences to discover common ground.

The Tomb of Jesus and His Family? Exploring Ancient Tombs Near Jerusalem's Walls
James H. Charlesworth and Arthur Boulet, editors

Thanks in large part to the Discovery Channel’s broadcast last week of “The Resurrection Tomb Mystery”  a documentary based on James Tabor and Simcha Jacobovici’s Jesus Discovery  there has been a flurry of recent discussion by scholars and amateurs alike about the tombs Tabor and Jacobovici excavated in the Talpiot neighborhood in Jerusalem.

Several of these discussions debating the merit and meaning of the findings popularly known as the “resurrection tomb,” the “Jesus family tomb,” the “James ossuary,” and the “Jonah ossuary” make reference to the 2008 Princeton Symposium that brought scores of experts together in Jerusalem to examine Second Temple-period Jewish burial practices and views of the afterlife  and to evaluate the so-called “Jesus family tomb” in context.

On Television
PBS’s Religion and Ethics Newsweekly featured authors Lillian Daniel and Martin Copenhaver on its April 15 show. The two seasoned United Church of Christ pastors shared their perspectives on what it’s really like to be a Protestant minister  to live out what they refer to as their “odd and wondrous calling” (a phrase which also happens to be the title of their 2009 book). You can view a short promo piece or watch the entire segment at the Religion and Ethics Newsweekly website.

New Hebrews Commentary Marks the "End of an Era" for the NICNT

April 20, 2012
Just last week, we announced on Twitter the release of Gareth Lee Cockerill’s New International Commentary on the New Testament volume on Hebrews, a work that, for outgoing series editor Gordon Fee “represents a signal end of an era for this commentary series, since it is both replacing a commentary by the second general editor (F. F. Bruce) and is the final editorial task of the third general editor, whose onsetting bout with Alzheimer’s disease has necessitated his relinquishing this task.”

This latest commentary will, indeed, be the final NICNT volume published under Fee’s editorship, as future volumes will be ably guided by the new series editor Joel B. Green.

This Hebrews volume by Cockerill (whom Fee says “is not only well acquainted with the secondary literature on this great biblical book, but has also brought his own deep love for the author of Hebrews and his work to the task so that it shines throughout these pages.”) replaces the volume by the late F. F. Bruce, which was first published in 1964 and updated by the author 25 years later. Bruce’s now-classic work of evangelical biblical scholarship will be re-released as a stand-alone paperback edition later this month.

Eerdmans Title Named Book of the Year by Academy of Parish ClergyTop Ten Books of 2011 Also Announced

The award will be presented at the Academy’s Annual Conference, which takes place May 8-10, 2012, in Dayton, Ohio.

What Shall We Say? explores how preachers can and should respond to the age-old question of how a good God can allow so much human suffering in the world. Thomas Long offers biblically based approaches to preaching on the subject, guided by the Book of Job, as well as Jesus’ parable of the wheat and the tares.

Read more about these honors  and the Eerdmans books that have received them  on our blog.

Soldier Bear wins Mildred L. Batchelder Award

January 23, 2012
Eerdmans Books for Young Readers has won the prestigious Mildred L. Batchelder Award for its English-language edition of Soldier Bear. The Batchelder is awarded each year by the American Library Association to an American publisher for a children's book considered to be the most outstanding of those books originally published in a language other than English in a country other than the United States, and subsequently translated into English and published in the United States.

We offer hearty congratulations to author Bibi Dumon Tak, illustrator Philip Hopman, and translator Laura Watkinson, as well as to the editorial staff of Eerdmans Books for Young Readers for this stunning achievement.

Eerdmans Dictionary of Early Judaism Named a Choice Magazine Outstanding Academic Title

According to Choice, "This year's Outstanding Academic Title list includes 629 books and electronic resources chosen by the Choice editorial staff from among the 7,263 titles reviewed by Choice during the past year. Of these, 600 are print products; the remaining 29 are electronic. These outstanding works have been selected for their excellence in scholarship and presentation, the significance of their contribution to the field, and their value as important -- often the first -- treatment of their subject. Comprising just over 9 percent of the titles reviewed by Choice during the past year, and less than 3 percent of the more then 25,000 titles submitted to Choice during this same period, Outstanding Academic Titles are truly the 'best of the best.'"

Eerdmans congratulates John J. Collins, Daniel C. Harlow, and each of the volume’s 270 contributors for their stunning achievement.

Three Eerdmans Books Win Christianity Today Book Awards

December 29, 2011Christianity Today has announced the winners of its annual Book Awards, which this year include three Eerdmans titles.

Eerdmans congratulates all three authors -- and offers its sincere thanks to the editors of Christianity Today for managing the unenviable task of selecting 12 winners and 11 notables from the nearly 400 titles submitted to the contest by more than 50 publishers.

October 25, 2011
Eerdmans is pleased and proud to welcome online visitors to its newly redesigned website, eerdmans.com. The revamped site features many improvements, including a streamlined shopping cart, a more powerful internal search engine, a completely new visual experience, and an extensive assortment of new or enhanced resources for authors, educators, ministers, librarians, bookstores, and general readers.

Eerdmans Bookstore Welcomes Richard Mouw

October 16, 2011
The Eerdmans Bookstore hosted author and president of Fuller Seminary Richard J. Mouw for a book talk, signing, and reception Saturday, October 15, 2011, at 7 p.m. Mouw discussed his recent book Abraham Kuyper: A Short and Personal Introduction as well as his forthcoming The Challenges of Cultural Discipleship: Essays in the Line of Abraham Kuyper. Mouw's talk was the penultimate event in the Eerdmans 100th Anniversary Author Series, which has so far also included Nicholas Wolterstorff, D. G. Hart, Mark Noll, and Larry ten Harmsel. Visit the Eerdmans Bookstore events page for details about all upcoming bookstore events.

Eerdmans Is Diamond Sponsor of 2011 AAR/SBL Annual Meeting

September 30, 2011
Eerdmans has announced its diamond-level sponsorship of the 2011 annual meetings of the American Academy of Religion and the Society of Biblical Literature, planned for November 19-22 in San Francisco. The company will be supplying conference totes, hosting an evening reception, and giving away a variety of promotional items to customers who shop its booth.

Eerdmans Announces Winners of the 100th Anniversary Photo Contest

August 11, 2011
Three winners have been announced in the Eerdmans 100th Anniversary Facebook Photo Contest. Laura Elliot won the grand prize (a $500 gift certificate) for her entry entitled "Little Preacher." Doug Iverson took second place (a $200 gift certificate) for his "Emma's Kindergarten Project." Third place (and a $100 gift certificate) went to Daniel McClellan's "Did God Have a Wife." For more information and to see all the winning photographs, visit our blog.

Eerdmans Celebrates Its 100th Anniversary

August 11, 2011
Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing marked its 100th anniversary August 11, 2011. The milestone has been marked by widespread media coverage, a book, a blog series, a photo contest, and more. Eerdmans has hosted a company dinner, an open house, and a book reading all specially related to the event, and it will also host a reception at the annual AAR/SBL meeting, of which it is the platinum sponsor. To find out more about the company's long history and its anniversary celebrations, visit our anniversary webpage.